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“Everyone thinks there wasn’t a game plan every time, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes there was, sometimes it was less clear,” he said.

“Compared to the set-up I have at Wolves, you could class it as old-school. When you were away with Ireland, you didn’t really have that much coaching. It was more of five-a-side, or 11-a-side game, and that would be it.

“You can’t have that, especially at international football, people not really sure on what their role is the next day”

“The day before a game you would do a few set-pieces here and there and then go into the game. You are kind of thinking to yourself, ‘what shape are we going to play?’

“You’d have a few players thinking ‘we’ll play this shape’, or someone else thinking something else. You can’t have that, especially at international football, people not really sure on what their role is the next day.

“It is bizarre, but like I said, it didn’t happen all the time. There were odd occasions when it did happen.”

Doherty insisted there was some special days that O’Neill would be remembered for.

“He has brought great nights to Irish football. He’s brought moments where I have been watching at home, not in the squad, as a fan also. Some of the times he has made the hairs on the back of the neck stand up. So he deserves credit as well.”